KISS' Gene Simmons promises to work 'magic' at Santa Anita Park

ARCADIA - When it comes to KISS frontman Gene Simmons' new role at Santa Anita Park, mystery and ambiguity may well be his trump cards.

Although the savvy businessman has clearly been tapped by The Stronach Group to help promote Santa Anita and its other racetracks nationwide, Simmons coyly remarks that he doesn't have a formal title - and speaks in grandiose but vague terms about his plans.

"Do you want to find out in July what you're getting for Christmas?" he said behind his big, dark sunglasses at the racetrack's executive offices. "Let's just say that 80 percent of the year, this track is empty. There's nothing going on. That's changing from today. ... We're going to make magic here. Santa Anita may as well be called Magic Land."

When asked if the racetrack could host KISS concerts in the future, he replied "yes."

"Keep going. You have 80 percent of the year to fill - so make it up," he said.

Stippers?

No. But nightclubs, shopping and lifestyle attractions are real possibilities, he said.

"There is no reason on earth that you can't have anything that's fun here at Santa Anita Park, anything you can imagine, and at Gulfstream Park (in Florida) and Pimlico (in Baltimore) and all the Stronach Group racetracks," Simmons said.

"You should be able to see it on television on a weekly basis. You should be able to have the stars right on the tracks where they can get a good view of the audiences and the races and where everybody in the stands can see the stars."

Simmons envisions baby ponies offering rides to children, a rehabilitation program in which wounded veterans would groom the horses, charity outreach, college internships and even hot air balloon rides, he said.

Frank Stronach, chairman of The Stronach Group, is also reluctant to give Simmons a title.

It's "whatever he told you," Stronach, who has known Simmons for about a decade, said Friday.

Asked whether Simmons will get paid for his marketing services, he replied "I do hope so."

Simmons insists that "the deals are already done" and he promises, "it's big."

Simmons, a bassist who co-founded the wildy popular rock band KISS four decades ago, has launched a variety of marketing and business ventures. Through Simmons Abramson Marketing, which served as the marketing company of the Indy Racing League, Simmons created the "I Am Indy" campaign and song for IndyCar. He was also behind the KISS miniature golf course in Las Vegas, a KISS coffeehouse in Myrtle Beach and a team-up with the Hello Kitty brand to market stuffed animals with a rock and roll theme.

But helping to restore Santa Anita Park and the declining horseracing industry to its former glory is a difficult task even for Simmons, said Scott Hettrick, executive director of the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce.

"Horse racing is suffering some economic loses in general, not just here, but across the U.S. and the world; everyone is trying to figure out what we can do," Hettrick said.

Santa Anita Park significantly reduced its work force in 2011 as part of a major reorganization that affected more than 100 full-time and seasonal positions, including some layoffs and some full-time positions becoming part-time positions. Former Santa Anita CEO Mark Verge, a colorful personality who introduced several new marketing strategies in the nine months he worked there, resigned last November.

But Santa Anita should be applauded for its "out-of-the-box" thinking and non-racing events at the track held in the last year, including bringing the California Philharmonic for concerts and hosting the popular 626 Night Markets, Hettrick said. These types of events attract thousands of people at a time that may not otherwise come to the track, Hettrick said. Food truck festivals and Circus Vargas runs have also drawn crowds to Santa Anita in recent years.

The challenge, however, is turning these events into revenue for the track, he said.

"Santa Anita is a large building on a large tract of land; that all costs money to maintain," Hettrick said. "Before you get to profitability and making money, you need big ideas that generate big revenue. Maybe Gene Simmons is the guy that can do that."